Page 14 - CANNABIS NEWS FLORIDA JULY 2020

ADVANCES IN TELEMEDICINE

A New Digital Reality:

The Doctor Has Entered the Chat South Florida's

Monthly
In a pandemic and post- right, the pandemic has new reality. Types of organizations sur-
pandemic state, phrases brought to light other very veyed included hospitals/ AMCs, physi- Healthcare Newspaper

like this one will be the clear healthcare imperatives cian groups, outpatient/ ambulatory sur-
norm as the response to that providers, payers and gery centers, post-acute, home health and PO Box 812708
COVID-19 changes health- retail clinics must address, hospice. Boca Raton, FL 33481-2708
care forever. including: For the next 12-18 months, survey Phone: (561) 368-6950

Telehealth’s rapid scale • Remaining agile, with respondents said their top business objec-
up has been critical in the clear plans for transforming tives are: Website:
public health response to existing infrastructure for 1. Improving the customer experience www.southfloridahospitalnews.com
the Coronavirus pandemic. other uses quickly, effectively (72%)
We’ve reached a tipping and in a way that preserves 2. Increasing operational efficiencies
point, and patients are patient safety (56%) CHARLES FELIX
unlikely to revert to the BY DEB SHEEHAN • Ensuring better up - 3. Modernizing the technology land- CAROL FELIX
previous reality once soci- stream and downstream care scape (54%) Publishers

ety recovers from today’s coordination of services 4. Bolstering cybersecurity (51%) NANCY LAMMIE
outbreak, particularly as the likelihood of across the continuum 5. Diversifying revenues (38%) Editor
follow-on waves looms absent a vaccine. • Reimagining—and then effectively 6. Increasing market differentiation
Telehealth will be critical to addressing monitoring and coordinating—drug and (37%) JUDY GRAMM
access to care and helping to mitigate a medical supply chains across the country Improving the customer experience Editorial Manager & Webmaster
clinician shortage that the pandemic has and internationally to avoid critical sup- (CX) is no surprise as the top business
no doubt exacerbated. But it must be ply shortages seen during the U.S. out- objective as it will be critical to putting JMC GRAPHICS
done right. break patient anxieties at ease, addressing new or Art/Production
To make the former imperative possi- Digital transformation is a critical piece exacerbated health issues coming out of lammienancy@aol.com
ble, a critical piece will be that providers of the answer for how healthcare organiza- the pandemic and preserving trust. 412-877-5321
plot out sustainable pricing and cus- tions can address these imperatives and The full study can be downloaded at
tomer experience (CX) models that hold navigate out of—and beyond—the pan- www.bdo.com/insights/industries/health- CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
both clinicians and patients accountable demic state. In doing so, they can build a care/2020-healthcare-digital-transforma- Daniel Casciato
in the way that poor patient satisfaction system that is not only better equipped to tion-survey. Barbara Fallon
scores and copays and last-minute cance- handle public health emergencies, but also Vanessa Orr
lation fees, respectively, have held them to provide better coordinated routine Deb Sheehan is Managing Director, Lois Thomson
accountable for in-person visits. To sup- patient care that provides a more holistic The BDO Center for Healthcare
port the latter imperative, providers must view of each patient’s health. Excellence & Innovation.
first determine which clinicians should BDO recently released results from a
deliver what types of care via telehealth 2020 Healthcare Digital Transformation Contact: LOOK FOR OUR
and which ones should be elevated to Survey that polled 100 C-suite executives Alfredo Cepero, Managing Partner NEXT ISSUE
higher levels of practice elsewhere on the at healthcare organizations with annual 305-420-8006/ acepero@bdo.com
continuum—which could include in revenues between $250 million and $3 bil- IN AUGUST
patients’ homes. lion, asking them where they plan to pri- Angelo Pirozzi, Partner
Beyond the need to get telehealth oritize investments to thrive in healthcare’s 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com
TO REACH US
FOR
Virtual Visits Enhance Care in Broward Health ICU ADVERTISING
OR EDITORIAL
When the coronavirus (COVID-19) cine services to manage patients who Call (561) 368-6950
spread to Florida, doctors and nurses on were sedated and on ventilators. Our or e-mail
the front line at Broward Health faced onsite physician can also use the carol@southfloridahospitalnews.com
increased admissions. New technology telemedicine system from a desktop or
helped enable caregivers to have special- laptop from any location to check on
ized support for their work caring for patients remotely when an in-person
patients with COVID-19. The health sys- visit is unnecessary.” SUBSCRIPTIONS

tem brought critical care specialists to According to P. William Ludwig, M.D.,
patients’ bedsides through virtual patient a pulmonary and critical care physician One Year $40
visits. and an expert in telemedicine, most Two Years $60
Broward Health Coral Springs had been patients are comfortable interacting with
using telemedicine services for night cov- physicians virtually thanks to their Three Years $75
erage in the ICU. Now, the hospital has a everyday experiences with mobile
virtual physician on board during the day phones, FaceTime, Zoom and other face- To subscribe,
as well. Broward Health North also uses to-face interactive platforms. And in-per-
telemedicine services. son help is always available. call (561) 368-6950
“A caregiver is onsite when telemedi- or subscribe online at
Benefits of Telemedicine cine services are used at Broward Health southfloridahospitalnews.com.
Isabel Novela, M.D., board certified in How It Works so he or she can interact with a patient in ____________
pulmonary medicine and critical care, When it’s time for a telemedicine visit, a person when needed,” he added.
serves as the director of the ICU at nurse wheels a high-tech telemedicine cart
Broward Health Coral Springs and to a patient’s bedside. The cart has a video Meeting Patients’ Needs All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or part without written
Broward North. She says telemedicine has camera and large monitor that allows the Broward Health started planning its permission prohibited. Copyright © 2020.
two major benefits that are especially help- physician to view the patient remotely and COVID-19 response early and with the
ful during the pandemic. interact with the patient. The remote help of telemedicine has managed to
“There’s a shortage of critical care physi- physician evaluates the patient, writes handle the surge in patients.
cians across the country,” Dr. Novela said. notes in the patient’s chart and directs the “We saw more patients and needed
“With telemedicine, additional critical care patient’s treatment. He or she also can more resources to care for them,” Dr. Don’t forget to include
specialists are available to help us care for respond to the nurse’s questions or consult Novela said. “Telemedicine is one of the South Florida Hospital News
our patients. In addition, telehealth man- with the critical care specialist onsite. reasons we’ve been doing well and giving & Healthcare Report
aged the number of in-person interactions “Our telemedicine physician manages patients the best care possible. It’s also an
caregivers have with patients, which patients all day and takes some of the load integral part of the plan we have in place in your Marketing Plans
reduced doctors’ and nurses’ risk of con- off our onsite physician,” Dr. Novela said. to care for even more patients if needed Call Charles at 561-368-6950 for a Media Kit
tracting coronavirus.” “During the pandemic, we used telemedi- in the weeks and months ahead.”

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com July 2020 23